The invention concerns a device which enables a monitoring module, generally comprising electronic elements, to be held removably on the inside surface of a tire.
The use of electronic modules in tires enables numerous applications that consist in acquiring, storing and transmitting data for the purpose of monitoring the manufacture or logistics, and more generally informing the user about the evolution of the tire's performances throughout its life.
The electronic monitoring module comprises active components connected to an autonomous electrical energy supply system such as batteries or an inductive coupling system, whose object is not part of the invention. The monitoring module is designed to exchange the desired information with an external module, which serves as the user interface, via radio waves whose frequency and power are determined by specific transmission protocols. The module is generally arranged inside a flexible or rigid protective cover intended to protect the electronic components from aggression related to shocks and the atmosphere inside the tire and its surroundings.
The monitoring module, positioned inside the cavity formed by the tire once it is fitted on the wheel, can be arranged on a large variety of supports. Thus, it can be fixed to the valve, fixed on the wheel rim, fixed or bonded to the inside wall of the tire, or even integrated in the components of the tire. The choice between one of these solutions depends on the nature of the tire and the forces to which it may be subjected, on the nature of the electronic module's energy source, on the information to be monitored and on the accessibility desired for maintenance purposes.
Solutions consisting in arranging elastic pockets on the inside wall of the tire have been described, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,065. However, they have the disadvantage of having to be positioned after the tire has been made. This entails carrying out a special process that consists in preparing the part of the surface which is to receive the support or elastic cavity and then bonding or vulcanizing the support onto the part of the surface, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,104.